Sabusawa Island

What it is

• The largest island in the Urato Islands covering 1.45 square kilometers.
• A former rice transshipment port used during the Edo period.
• The birthplace of two of the first Japanese people to circle the globe.
• The site where the Sendai clan built the Western-style warship Kaiseimaru.

What to see

• The Shibari Jizo statue which serves as a local landmark.
• Rice paddies located across the island landscape.
• The anchorage site where Enomoto Takeaki's fleet stayed during the Boshin War.

Getting there

• The Shiogama municipal ferry reaches the island in 44 minutes.
• A free ferry connects the island to nearby Nonoshima and Hojima.

Notes written by Japan Gems from facts in Japanese Wikipedia.